Up In Smoak
by CaskettOlicityJeca
Summary: There is only one person Felicity Smoak cares about more than her work. But, with Felicity now secretly working with 'The Hood', how many lies and secrets will that person turn a blind-eye to before confronting Felicity? What happens when someone other than Detective Lance discovers Felicity's connection to The Hood, and what will they do to get her to turn Oliver over to them?
1. Prologue: Aftershock

**Hey guys, so this is my first Arrow story, but I have written many for ****_Castle_**** and one for ****_Pitch_****_Perfect_****. I love Felicity Smoak. Like, she is now who I aspire to be. So, I decided that I wanted this story to focus on Felicity a lot. I ship both Lauliver and Olicity, which will come across in this story, I think. So, hope you enjoy!**

**_Disclaimer:_****I don't own ****_Arrow_**** or any characters affiliated with it.**

* * *

**Prologue: Aftershock**

She walks slowly through the Glades, taking in the mass destruction around her. Everywhere she turns there are crumbled buildings, broken glass, over-turned cars, half-buried people. It is, in one word, a horrific sight. Never in her wildest dreams had she imagined she would be a firsthand witness of anything like this. Never in her wildest dreams had she imagines she would be blaming herself for anything like this.

But she is seeing it, and she is blaming herself for it. She should have known that Malcolm would have more than one device. I mean, he wasn't a stupid man. She should have realised he would have had a backup plan. But she didn't, and now part of the city that she so dearly loves has been destroyed.

She blindly walks through the chaos until she reaches the edge of the Glades and leaves that destruction behind her. For the rest of tonight, anyway. Odds are she'll be back there tomorrow, checking on her 'boss' and friend. But, for now, she is going to try to push it all to the back of her mind.

* * *

Felicity slowly trudges down the corridor to her apartment. Still shaking from the evening's events, she fumbles with her key in the lock.

She was sitting in Verdant's basement when that earthquake happened. She could have died. Tommy, Oliver's best friend, did die. She couldn't even begin to imagine what Oliver and Laurel were going through right now. Oliver had been sitting against the wall of their 'headquarters' when she had left, after asking him if he was ok at least fifty times. If she had been in his position, he would have shot her with an arrow out of pure annoyance and frustration. But, Oliver had completely shut down and didn't acknowledge her in any way. She had only left after Diggle had said he'd watch Oliver for the night.

"Shit!" She grumbles as she drops the key and it clatters to the ground, still no closer to actually getting into her apartment, having a glass or two of wine and then crawling into bed to sleep for quite possibly the next seven days.

She finally gets the door unlocked and swings it open. She isn't even inside the room when she sees a flurry of long blonde curls charge at her and arms wrap tightly around her neck as the young woman hugs her tightly.

"Oh my god Liss! I was so scared!" The woman says, hugging Felicity even tighter. "You have no idea! I was actually about to come looking for you." She points over her shoulder at the backpack sitting on the coffee table in the living room.

"I'm fine, I'm fine." Felicity attempts to comfort the younger woman.

"How can you say that?! You were in the Glades! Half of the Glades isn't even standing anymore!" She shrieks.

"I know, I know. But I was in the half that is still standing. "Nora, I'm fine. Look at me." Felicity forces the woman to look up at her. "I am absolutely fine."

"You're lying." Eleanor states. "You aren't fine. You were shit-scared too. You still are."

Felicity sighs and nods her head in agreement. Nora is the one person who she can never lie to, and if she does lie to her, she ends up getting caught out anyway. "I just need a glass of wine."

Nora nods her head and rushes into the kitchen, pouring two glasses of red wine. Felicity quirks an eyebrow when she sees the second glass make its way to Nora's lips but says nothing. They both need the alcohol after the stress and terror of the night.

They drink their glasses without saying anything to one another, and pour themselves another glass. Within the hour, they've finished the bottle.

Felicity stands silently and heads into her bedroom, leaving her – now empty – wine glass sitting on the coffee table. As she gets changed into her pyjamas, she hears Nora washing their wine glasses. Felicity is just drifting off to sleep when the bedroom door opens slightly and Nora slips in. Quietly, she slips into the bed beside Felicity and wraps her arms tightly around her waist.

That small touch is all Felicity needs – even in her sleepy haze – to know just how scared shitless Eleanor had been, worrying about Felicity's safety all night.

She silently promises herself that she will never scare her baby sister like that ever again.

* * *

**There you go! Review and let me know what you think!**


	2. Chap 1: Birthday Girl

**So, I hope everyone liked the prologue! I think some of the things that happen in this chapter between Felicity and Nora are quite funny, but maybe that's just me... Let me know what you think!**

**_Disclaimer:_****I don't own Arrow or any of it's characters :(**

* * *

_***7 Weeks after the Undertaking***_

**Birthday Girl**

Felicity stands from the computers and turns to look at Oliver and Diggle who are practice-fighting again.

"We just got this place completely fixed and you guys start fighting?" She questions.

Neither of the men answer, both slightly out of breath from their training.

"Just… don't break any of my stuff." She says.

"Actually Felicity, it's my stuff." Oliver points out. "I'm just letting you use it."

"Well, let's face it, neither of you would be able to use any of this," She gestures to the devices, "Efficiently without me."

Diggle tips his head. "She has a point."

"I always have a point. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have somewhere to be."

Both men quirk an eyebrow and smirk at her. "Care to share?" Oliver questions.

"No! It's not like, a date or anything! It'd be weird if it was a date… inappropriate, actually. Now, if it was you I was going home to, that would be another story…" Felicity blushes intensely as she quickly averts her eyes from Oliver's steady – slightly humoured – gaze. "And I am going to shut up and leave right now."

With that, she grabs her jacket and bag and makes her way up the stairs and out of the basement. As she passes, she reaches over the bar and grabs a bottle of liquor.

"You don't mind if I take this, right?!" She shouts over her shoulder. Too bad if they did, she thinks as she exits the club and jumps into her car, driving through the still unrecognisable streets.

* * *

Nora sets up the candles, streamers and balloons around the apartment. There are at least four balloons in every room, including the bathroom. Ok, so maybe she went a bit over the top with the balloons, but… oh well.

She hears Felicity's key in the lock and jumps over the back of the couch, because she is that girl who tries to create a surprise birthday party with one person.

"I know you're here, weirdo." Felicity's voice calls as she enters the apartment and kicks off her shoes.

"SURPRISE!" Nora yells, jumping up from behind the couch and beginning to sing at the top of her lungs, "Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday dear Felicity… HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!"

Felicity winces at the purposely terrible singing coming from her sister. It's not that Nora can't sing – she can sing very well, actually – but she makes a point of always singing Happy Birthday way way way off key.

"Why?" Felicity wonders as she hugs Nora. "Why do you insist on doing this every single year?"

Nora shrugs her shoulders. "Birthdays are an important event. They are momentous occasions."

"How I live with you, I'll never know." Felicity states.

"Simple, you really have no other option." Nora grins.

What Nora says is true. Felicity does have no other option, other than to put her little sister in the foster system which is never going to happen. The girls' father died from cancer when Nora was 11 and Felicity was 19. Two months later, just after Felicity's 20th birthday and only a few months before Nora's 12th, their mother left them, unable to cope with the grief of having lost her husband and the stress of having to support the two girls. To this day, no one knows where their mother is, or if she's even still alive. It doesn't upset Nora as much as it upsets Felicity, the fact that their own mother had abandoned them.

"Isn't that true." Felicity mumbles, immediately going into shut-down mode at the mere implication of their past.

"Look I'm sorry." Nora begins to apologise. "I didn't mean it like that. It's just… You know us Smoaks; no brain-to-mouth filter."

Felicity laughs in agreement, her stance softening. "Isn't that true. I say the stupidest shit in front of Oliver… which you don't know. Because I don't actually know Oliver." She rolls her eyes at her own stupidity.

"Oliver Queen?" Nora asks curiously.

"Errr no. A different Oliver." Felicity attempts to convince her.

Nora tips her head in her how-stupid-do-you-think-I-am-I'm-a-genius-too face. "Really? You work for Queen Consolidated, and you know another Oliver? One who you manage to say stupid shit in front of? Oliver Queen could make any woman babble."

"That's the understatement of the century." Felicity agrees before clamping her hand firmly over her mouth.

"That's what I thought." Nora says in triumph.

"I hate you so much." Felicity grumbles.

"Now, now Lissy, don't be like that. You would be lost without the brilliance that is me. Oh!" She remembers something and runs toward her bedroom, coming back a moment later with a small box wrapped in silver paper. "Catch!" She tosses the present across the room to Felicity.

Felicity catches it and looks up. "I thought I said, and I specifically remember saying this to you on more than one occasion, no presents."

"Pfft!" Nora says sarcastically. "And when do I ever listen to you?"

Felicity nods her head. "Point taken."

"Open it!" Nora says enthusiastically, biting her bottom lip in anticipation as Felicity carefully unwraps the box.

She throws the paper on the ground and flips the lid of the jewellery box to reveal a silver necklace with half of a heart. In small cursive writing are the words 'Big Sister' and in the top corner of the piece of the heart is a small diamond. Nora walks towards Felicity and pulls the other half of the heart out from under her top. She takes her necklace off and joins the two pieces together. Her half says 'Little Sister'. She turns the heart over and shows Felicity the other side, which says 'Best Friends'.

Felicity throws her arms tightly around Nora and whispers in her ear. "I love you so much. I promise, I'll never leave you and I'll never, ever let anything bad happen to you."

"I know." Nora nods into Felicity's shoulder.

At that moment there is a knock on the door. Nora quickly escapes Felicity's embrace and runs to the doorway. Just before she opens the door, she turns and looks back at a curious Felicity. "This is a good time to get your appalling brain-to-mouth filter working."

And she swings the door open to reveal none other than Oliver Queen.

Felicity's mouth drops open at the sight of Oliver standing in her doorway with a present and a bunch of roses.

"You little bitch." Felicity whispers towards Nora who just smirks and lets Oliver into the apartment, along with Diggle who was standing in the background.

"Happy birthday Felicity!" Oliver says as he hands her the flowers and present before giving her a hug.

"How… How did you…" She clears her throat. "How did you know it was my birthday?"

"I received a call from your phone last week." He says, looking pointedly at Nora.

Felicity glares daggers at her.

"I answered, expecting it to be you with something work-related, only to be notified that it was your birthday today and I was invited over for a party. I was told to bring along anyone I liked, so long as there were no more than twenty people because you don't have a very big apartment." Oliver continues. "I invited Laurel, Thea and Walter."

Felicity nods in approval whilst Nora blanches at the mention of Thea Queen.

"However, Thea couldn't make it. She said she already had arrangements with Roy."

"Oh thank the lord." Nora whispers. Thankfully Oliver doesn't hear her, but Felicity does shoot her a warning look.

"I received a similar call." Diggle says as he hands Felicity his own present. He leans into her ear and whispers. "Don't let the kid see what that is."

Felicity looks between Diggle and the box in her hand curiously. It can't be anything inappropriate because Diggle is seeing someone. Oh… it's something criminal related.

She nods her head in understanding and places the box on the coffee table.

"Carly and AJ are coming too, I hope that's ok." Diggle adds.

"Of course, that's fine." Felicity nods. "So, do either of you want a drink?"

"Depends what's on offer." Oliver grins.

"Beer, red wine, champagne, a different champagne, tequila, vodka, Bacardi, Kahlua, Scotch." Nora supplies immediately. "Or coffee or water."

"Thank you for informing them of the entire contents of my alcohol cabinet, Eleanor." Felicity says sarcastically as Oliver and Diggle try to contain the laughter threatening to erupt from both of them.

"Just some Scotch for now, thank you." Oliver says.

"And I'll have a beer, please." Diggle adds.

"While you're at it, I'll have some Kahlua." Nora adds.

"Get it yourself, you lazy little shit." Felicity retaliates as she grabs Diggle's beer from the fridge and hides his present in the back of the alcohol cabinet as she takes down the bottle of Scotch.

This statement is all it takes to send Oliver and Diggle into fits of uncontrollable laughter. Oliver even lets out a snort.

"This is priceless!" Diggle manages to get out.

"Felicity as the disapproving bitch of an older sister." Oliver adds. "I never would have believed it if I weren't witnessing it with my own eyes."

"You and me both, man." Diggle agrees, clutching at his stomach.

"It's not funny." Felicity says as she walks over with Diggle's beer bottle and Oliver's glass of Scotch. They both keep laughing, looking up at her with watering eyes. "I swear to God, if you don't stop laughing you'll be getting your drinks poured on your head."

They both stop laughing immediately and snatch the drinks out of Felicity's hands before she has a chance to carry out her threat, which neither of them have any doubts in their mind that she would actually do.

"Yeah, that's what I thought." Felicity says before she turns sharply and her ponytail whacks Oliver around the face.

"You do that on purpose." Oliver says. "I know you do."

"Do what?" Felicity asks, genuinely curious.

"Spin on your heel that fast that you almost knock me unconscious with your hair."

"You don't even want to know what I would do to you on purpose if I could." Felicity says before closing her eyes and sighing as her cheeks are yet again painted red. "And I did it again."

Nora's hand clamps over her mouth as she tries – in vain – to not laugh at her sister's public humiliation. There is a knock at the door and Felicity races towards it to escape further embarrassing herself. She swings it open to find Laurel holding a bottle of wine and a small gift, and Walter with an envelope.

Laurel smiles at her. "Ahhh, so it is the Felicity from the club. I was just a bit unsure as to whose birthday we were actually celebrating."

"Yep, just good old me." Felicity smiles awkwardly at Oliver's girlfriend. "Um… yeah, Oliver and Diggle are already here, so…" Felicity steps back and ushers Laurel inside.

"Good evening Felicity." Walter smiles at her and she smiles back. "I hope you're having a wonderful birthday."

"I am, thank you." Felicity says to the British man,

"Wow…" Nora says when Felicity and Laurel enter the room. "You really are as gorgeous as Liss said you were."

Felicity backhands Nora's arm at that comment.

"Holy mother of…" Nora exclaims as she clutches at her arm. "When they hell did you learn to hit like that?!"

Felicity tries not to smirk as she looks at Diggle and Oliver out of the corner of her eye, both of whom are hiding their own smirks – Diggle by actual self restraint, Oliver with his glass of Scotch. "I've been working out."

"When?" Nora screeches. "You're always either at Queen or Verdant! When do you have time to work out and take lessons on how to attack your little sister?!"

"You are insufferable." Felicity says, patting Nora's head gently before walking to the kitchen. "Would you like a drink, Laurel?"

"Do you have an open bottle of wine, by any chance?" Laurel questions politely, both amused and confused by the sisters' interaction with each other.

"We have…" Nora begins only to be cut off by the – now empty jewellery box she had given Felicity – flying at her head.

"Don't even think about doing that again." Felicity says as she hands Laurel a glass of red wine.

"Thanks." Laurel smiles at Felicity, before her eyes flick back at Nora who is tossing the jewellery box up and down in her right hand, glaring at Felicity, while her left hand rubs the spot on her head that the box had connected with.

"Oh… here we go." Laurel says just Nora raises her right hand and flicks the box in the direction of her sister with speed. Laurel's hand flies up and catches the box before it hits Felicity.

"Thanks!" Felicity says to Laurel as she looks at the box – now clutched in Laurel's hand – that would have hit her smack bang in the middle of the head. She turns to look at Nora just as there is yet another knock on the door.

"I'll get it!" Nora exclaims quickly and walks to the door.

She swings it open to be met with a woman and a boy who looks about 8 years old. She smiles at them. "You must be Carly and AJ."

The woman smiles and nods. "Yes, that's us. John asked if we wanted to come to one of his colleague's birthdays."

"Well, you are at the right place." Nora says. "I'm not his colleague, obviously, I'm only 17. His colleague is my sister Felicity… And I'm rambling. So, come in."

Nora leads the pair into the living room and everyone sits down on the couch and armchairs, except for Nora who makes herself comfortable on the floor. Carly and AJ are sitting in one armchair, Diggle in another, and Walter in the last, and Felicity is sitting between Oliver and Laurel on the couch.

"Ahhh… Do you want me to move?" Felicity asks, her eyes looking between the two she is separating."

"No, no. It's fine. The birthday girl needs to be in the middle." Laurel insists happily.

"Okayyyy…" Felicity says slowly.

"Who wants their present opened first?" Nora asks, looking around at the group of adults.

"Oh. I didn't know we were supposed to bring presents." Carly says apologetically.

"I got a present from all of us." Diggle says to her.

"Mine first?" Laurel asks, looking at the others for confirmation. They all nod so she grabs her present from the coffee table and passes it to Felicity.

"I wasn't sure what to get you, so I hope it's alright." Laurel says unsurely.

Felicity unwraps the present. It's a gorgeous candle and candle holder, and a gift voucher of some kind.

"Smell it." Laurel encourages, pointing at the candle.

Felicity lifts the candle to her nose and warily smells it, only for her eyes to pop open. Lime and lemongrass. It used to be her favourite, but she hasn't smelt a candle like that in a least five years!

"Oh my god, thank you so much!" Felicity exclaims as she picks up the envelope containing what she assumes is a gift voucher. She takes a full-body massage voucher and a $100 voucher for Silverstone Computing.

"They seriously give the best massages ever." Laurel says, pointing at the massage voucher. "And I remember Ollie said you were at Verdant fixing the server or something, so I figured you were into computers. I hope it's alright."

"Alright? It's amazing!" Felicity gushes. "Thank you so much!" She throws her arms around Laurel in a tight hug.

Laurel is slightly surprised at first, but hugs her back quickly. "I'm glad you like it." She says truthfully.

"Ok, my turn." Diggle hands her an envelope. Felicity eyes him, knowing he's already given her his gift. It's hidden away in the alcohol cabinet. He simply gives her a minute nod and she takes the envelope. She opens it to find a $150 gift voucher to Watson's Jewellers.

She smiles at Diggle, and then at Carly and AJ. "Thank you, guys."

Walter hands his envelope to her. "Here you go, dear."

"Thank you." Felicity says as she takes the envelope and opens it. A $200 travel voucher.

"You can use it on any flight, boat-trip or hotel anywhere in the world." Walter explains.

"Thank you, Walter." Felicity says.

Everyone's eyes turn to Oliver and he grins happily. "Looks like it's my turn." He picks up his present from the table and gives it to her. It's bigger – and heavier – than everyone else's had been.

She unwraps it to find a big cardboard box. She looks up at Oliver. "I swear to god, Oliver Queen, if you're giving me a brick in a box for my birthday…"

"Just open the box, Felicity." He says.

And she does. She opens the box and gasps. There are five items in it, all separated by lots of bubble wrap. She picks up the smallest item. A green iPod shuffle in a clear plastic box.

She laughs at that.

"Because you broke your old one, remember?" He grins at her

"I broke it?" She laughs incredulously, remembering very well that he had shot an arrow through it when it was sitting on the desk because he had thought the music was distracting her. Turns out she actually can't work as efficiently without music.

She takes out the next one, which is only slightly bigger than the iPod box. It's a pack of four different ear pieces, all different sizes and styles. She quirks an eyebrow at him.

"They're better quality than your current one, trust me." He states.

She rolls her eyes at him and lifts out the biggest thing in the box, a large wooden jewellery cabinet. It has three doors, and two drawers. It's clearly made from mahogany and has white and red flowers painted on the windows on all three of the doors. "It's beautiful." She whispers, running her fingers over the smooth wood.

"You like it?" He questions.

"Like it?" She looks up at him. "I love it! It's freaking gorgeous! How could I not like it?!"

He – along with everyone else in the room – laughs at her outburst. She places it on the coffee table and pulls out the second last gift. It's perfume. _Taylor_ by Taylor Swift.

"Oh my god how did you know?" She turns and looks at him, horrified that he's found out about her secret girl-crush.

He laughs at the look of terror on her face. "You were wearing _Wonderstruck Enchanted _the other day. Thea has it, so I know exactly what it smells like. I'm surprised the stuff hasn't gassed her yet, I swear you can actually see a cloud of it floating in her room. Oh, and you have a habit of singing aloud when you're listening to your iPod working on the servers in Verdant."

She shakes her head, still not believing that he discovered her guilty pleasure. Felicity sprays some of the perfume on her wrist and immediately Nora is scrambling over the coffee table to get a whiff of the new perfume she has been wanting since it first came out. That's something – as well as their almost identical looks – that the sisters share; their mutual love for Taylor Swift.

"Oh my god it's amazing." Nora whispers as she snatches the bottle out of Felicity's hand.

"Just so you know," Felicity tells Oliver, "It's her birthday in just under two months. Do you think you could get her her own perfume so she doesn't steal mine?"

Oliver laughs and nods his head. "Sure thing."

The final present from Oliver is a photo frame containing of photo of Felicity, Oliver and Diggle all dressed up earlier during the night that Felicity ended up wearing a collar bomb as an accessory. She smiles at the picture. It's beautiful. She's standing in the middle of the men, all three smiling happily, and Oliver's hand is just visibly resting on her waist. She remembers how it felt, the warmth of his hand seeping through the material of her dress to her skin. She shouldn't get butterflies from that thought, especially sitting between him and his girlfriend, but she does.

"Thank you Oliver. Really." She whispers.

He smiles softly at her before wrapping his arms around her and pulling her small frame to his chest. "Happy birthday, Felicity."

They pull back and Felicity gathers all of her presents from the coffee table, carrying them into her room with some help from Laurel. She feels like a bitch, having feelings for Laurel's boyfriend when Laurel doesn't even know her but came over for her birthday and gave her wonderful – and expensive – presents.

Felicity looks up at Laurel. "Look, I just want you to know that I'm not going to try and steal Oliver away from you. He's a great guy, but I would never take him from you."

Laurel nods and smiles at her. "I know. And honestly, if he does choose that he'd rather be with you instead of me, I'll support you guys. I mean, I flipped between him and Tommy so quickly I'm surprised we didn't all get whiplash." They both laugh at that. "You're a wonderful woman, Felicity. Much better than I am. Whatever happens with Ollie, I think you and I could be great friends."

Felicity nods her head. "Yeah, I'd like that. I don't exactly have many friends, as you can probably tell by the fantastic turn-out for my birthday." She jokes but looks down at her hands sadly.

"Well, it's their loss." Laurel smiles, "Because this party is going to go off."

Felicity looks up and chuckles lightly as Laurel tugs her out of the bedroom and over to the round kitchen table where everyone, except for Nora, is already seated.

Felicity tries to walk into the kitchen to help Nora serve whatever food she's cooked, but Laurel pushes her down into an empty chair beside Oliver.

"Sit. It's your birthday." Laurel says to her and then walks into the kitchen.

She comes back a minute later, placing bowls of pasta down in front of Diggle, Carly and AJ. Nora carries out more bowls of pasta and puts them down in front of Walter, Oliver and Felicity and places the fourth bowl down at an empty seat on the other side of Oliver. She heads back into the kitchen and comes back over to the table carrying her own pasta and the bottle of wine that Laurel had brought, and Laurel manages to carry seven wine glasses and one normal glass for AJ.

"What would you like to drink?" Nora asks the boy.

"Can I please have a Sprite?" He asks.

"Of course." She goes and grabs a can of Sprite from the fridge, coming back and pouring it into the boy's glass before sitting down between Diggle and her sister. As soon as she is seated, everyone begins eating and their chatter and laughter fills the small apartment.

Felicity thinks she hasn't been this happy or felt like she's been a part of a family like this for a long time. It's a pretty damn good birthday, in her opinion.

* * *

"So, did you have fun?" Nora asks Felicity as the sisters sit together on the couch. Oliver and Laurel – the last people left at the party – had just left.

"It was amazing. Thank you so much! You are the best sister anyone could ever have." Felicity says.

"I'm glad you had fun. So, how does it feel being 26?"

"No different than being 25." Felicity responds.

Nora chuckles and gets up off the couch. "Ok, well I'm going to bed. I have school in the morning, and I'm going to have a hangover as it is so… Night, love you." Nora presses a kiss to Felicity's cheek.

"Love you too, Sweetie." Felicity says and Nora walks away.

"Oh, and in the morning I want to know what the hell is going on with you and Oliver Queen!" Nora calls over her shoulder as she closes the door.

"There's nothing going on!" Felicity replies.

"Mhmmm…" Nora mumbles, only just loud enough for Felicity to hear.

"Shut up!" Felicity says, but laughs at Nora's antics before she, too, goes to bed.

* * *

**Ta da! Leave a review and let me know what you think! I'm taking suggestions for things to occur between Nora and Felicity!**


	3. Chap 2: Replacement

**I would like to thank all of my wonderful reviewers! Thank you to Redlioness62 for pointing out about Carly and AJ. I'll fix that! This chapter is (in my opinion) quite funny at the beginning, but then it gets really angsty at the end. Olicity shines through in this chapter!**

**Also, I am going to tell everyone right now that I am NOT killing Nora. There is no way that is going to happen. Ever.**

**_Disclaimer:_**** Arrow and all affiliated characters belong to DC and CW, however I would be happy for them to hire me as a writer...**

* * *

Felicity rolls over in her bed and opens her eyes, only to slam them shut again when the small sliver of light coming in from the crack between her curtains practically blinds her. Which is really an impossibility seeing as she is basically blind already.

Her head is pounding slightly. It's not really a bad hangover – definitely not the worst she's experienced – but it still makes her groan in pain and want to curl up in a ball and stay in bed for the rest of the day. But she can't. Because she has to be at work in…

She rolls over and picks her glasses up from the bedside stand, slipping them on and looking at the small digital clock beside her bed.

"Shit!" She exclaims, bolting upright and ignoring the sudden jolt of pain that runs through her head at her unexpected movements. It's 9.46am, and she's supposed to start work at 8.30. And she has a meeting with Oliver and Isabel Rochev at 10 o'clock. "Shit, shit, shit." She says as she runs out of her bedroom, dialling Oliver as she goes. She sees some pills and a glass of water sitting on the kitchen table with a note beside them. She scans Eleanor's rushed and messy scrawl. Clearly she wasn't the only person running late this morning.

_Ok, so I figured you'd need these if your head feels anything like mine this morning. I'm already 15 minutes late for school, so I have to go.  
We will talk about Oliver tonight!  
Love, N xxx_

_ Oh, don't forget I'm taking you out to dinner tonight! Make sure you're home by 6.30! _

"Hello?" Oliver answers the call.

"Oliver, I'm running late! I'll be there in like, half an hour. Just stall Isabel until I get there!" She says as she throws the two pills into her mouth and downs them quickly with a mouthful of water.

"Felicity, slow down, it's alright. I just got an email from Ms Rochev requesting that we change the meeting to 10.30 because something else came up on her end." Oliver says.

"Ok, that's good because my head is killing me. I was almost blinded by the sunlight this morning, which is saying something considering I have very poor eyesight as it is." She says as she walks back into her room and turns her phone onto loud speaker. She tosses her phone onto the bed as she starts getting changed, quickly pulling her pyjamas off and rummaging through her closet looking for something appropriate to wear for the meeting. She settles on a kneelength red dress and walks back over to the bed, wearing only her simple black bra and pink, black and white leopard print underwear.

"Felicity? Are you there?" Oliver's voice asks and Felicity immediately tries to cover her bare skin before realising he's just still on the phone to her.

"Oh yeah, sorry. I'm just getting dressed, that's all." She answers as she puts the dress on and reaches over her shoulder in an attempt to zip the back up. She groans in frustration as she remembers she can't do this dress's zip up by herself and Nora always has to help her with it.

"Have you run into a problem, Felicity?" Oliver asks.

"I can't get the…" She reaches back for the zip again, "Damn zip up." After a few more seconds of struggling, she lets her arm fall down in defeat.

"Are you wearing a dress?" Oliver wonders.

"No I'm wearing jeans and can't do the zip up without assistance." Felicity grumbles sarcastically, her voice full of annoyance.

Oliver chuckles at her. He can tell she's not going to have a good day, today.

"Something funny, Queen?" She asks him.

"No, no. Just… leave the dress on. Wear a jacket or something and I'll do it up for you when you get here. Also, I bought you some breakfast so you don't have to worry about that."

"Is that one of your pickup lines?" Felicity asks him.

"Uh no. I just thought, you clearly want to wear the dress, and you obviously can't get the zip up by yourself. And as for the breakfast, I had a feeling you might be in a rush this morning."

"Oh." She pauses in deliberation of his explanation. "Ok, fair enough. Well, I'm leaving right now, so I'll be there in 15. Bye!" Without waiting for a response from Oliver, Felicity hangs up, puts a black blazer on over her unzipped dress and pulls a pair of black high heels on. She grabs her makeup back out the bathroom and runs into the kitchen, pulling her birthday present from Diggle out of the alcohol cabinet. She picks up her purse as she runs past the coffee table and then runs out the door, locking it behind her. She decides she has no time to wait for the elevator so chooses to run down the stairs instead. Possibly not her best idea, considering her footwear and lack of coordination. She almost rolls her ankle at least six times.

She jumps into her car which is parked on the street outside her building and pulls out onto the road. Due to the fact that most people are already at work like she should be, traffic is fairly low. She grabs Diggle's present from the front passenger seat and places it in her lap, unwrapping it without taking her eyes off the road. When all of the paper has been torn away, she looks down at the three items sitting in her a lap. A Taser, a gun, and pepper spray.

"Really? Pepper spray?" Felicity asks out loud. "A gun, Taser, and _pepper spray_? Wonderful to see you have such confidence in my defensive abilities."

She throws the three items back onto the passenger seat and picks up her makeup bag. She puts on her moisturiser, foundation, a tiny bit of blush, and mascara. She pulls into the Queen Consolidated garage and applies a lipstick which is the exact same shade of red as her dress. She reaches across the centre console of the car and shoves the Taser, gun and pepper spray into the glove compartment so no one will see them.

Oliver is waiting for her in his office. As soon as he lays eyes on her, coming flying through the glass door, he bites back his smirk.

He picks up the coffee he had brought for her and holds it up in offering. "Coffee?"

"You, Oliver Queen, are my official saviour." Felicity sighs in gratitude as she takes the takeaway Starbucks cup from him. He walks around behind her, pulling her blazer jacket off her shoulders. His hand goes to the small of her back and she stiffens.

"What are you doing?" She breathes out, almost inaudibly.

She feels his deep, rumbling chuckle behind her. "Your zipper. I thought we had discussed this arrangement already."

"I… yeah… I just… forgot." She stutters as she pulls her loose curls over her shoulder so they don't get caught in the zip.

"Felicity Smoak at a loss for words? I think I deserve an award for making that happen." Oliver jokes.

"Please don't." Felicity begs him, looking over her shoulder at him as he easily slides the zip up her back. "I can't deal with you being… well, _you_ today." She says.

He quirks an eyebrow at her. "You haven't had a hangover for a while, huh?"

She shakes her head. "I haven't really had a chance to go out and get drunk, considering I'm up all night most nights with you." She squeezes her eyes closed. "You make everything that comes out of my mouth sound bad."

Oliver laughs at her as he gently pulls her hair back over her shoulder. "It's my fault you have a terrible brain-to-mouth filter?"

Her breath catches in her throat as his hands gently brush against the bare skin of her neck and shoulders. "Yes. You destroy all rational thought in my head."

"I've noticed. Many, many times." He smirks smugly at her. "Remember that time we broke in Merlyn Global?"

"Yes I do, and you don't have to keep bringing it up. Yes, I have fantasized about being with you. But let's be honest, we both already knew that before I had that specific slip-up."

"So Miss Smoak," Oliver says mischievously but with a straight face. "What, exactly, was the nature of these fantasies?"

Felicity bites her bottom lip and closes her eyes briefly to regain her composure and not tell Oliver in great detail what she has fantasized about many times. "Oliver. We are at work. Actual, paid work, not just sitting in the foundry hacking into some random database or security cameras. If you make me lose my job…"

"Felicity." He cuts her off. "I am Oliver Queen. This is my business. Trust me, you aren't going to lose your job anytime soon."

She sighs in relief. "Thank you."

"But seriously." He levels her with his gaze. "I want to know what you fantasize about."

"Oliver," Felicity says sternly, "Please do not do this to me. I'm edgy enough this morning as it is. I almost rolled my ankle six times this morning running down the stairs out of my apartment. I had to do my makeup in the car…"

"I can tell." Oliver says

"What?" She questions in confusion just as Oliver reaches his thumb towards her lips, wiping away some lipstick from the corner of her lips. "Ohhhh… Thanks." She says, trying to avoid his gaze.

"No problem." Oliver says just as Diggle knocks on the door.

"Mr Queen, Miss Smoak. Isabel Rochev is in the small boardroom ready for your meeting." Diggle says, ever the professional when in the Queen Consolidated building.

"Thank you, Mr Diggle." Felicity says, giving him a professional nod as she walks past him and exits her office, Oliver close behind her.

Diggle gives a small smirk as he closes her office door and follows his two partners to the elevator which will take them to the boardrooms.

Felicity purposely looks at neither men, every piece of flesh that Oliver had touched, on fire. Her back, her neck, her shoulder, and her lips.

_Professional, platonic relationship._ She tells herself. _We are in a professional, platonic relationship. And he has a girlfriend, who is not me._

* * *

Felicity walks down the stairs of the foundry and stalks over to Diggle and Oliver who are sparring on the mats. She stops when she reaches the edge of the mats, not wanting to get hit in the face… again. Both men immediately stop circling each other when they see the blonde with her hands on her hips, a single eyebrow quirked.

"Pepper spray? Really? You give me a gun, a Taser, and pepper spray? Do you doubt my fighting abilities that much that you think I need _pepper spray_?"

Despite his best efforts, Diggle laughs at the obvious offensive written all over Felicity's face. Oliver just stands there, smirking slightly.

She looks at Oliver in realisation. "Oh my god! You were in on it, too! I hate you both!"

"How about you go and get changed into your practice gear and prove to us that you don't need the pepper spray?" Oliver suggests.

Felicity's eyes sparkle at the prospect of getting to train again. She hasn't had a chance to train with either of the boys lately. "Ok, I'll be five minutes!"

She grabs her gym bag from the wooden bench behind the mats and runs towards the bathroom. Diggle and Oliver both laugh at her enthusiasm. It's refreshing for both of them, having Felicity around.

"She's something." Diggle laughs as Felicity doesn't quite push the bathroom door open fast enough and runs into it a muffled squeak coming out of her mouth.

Oliver nods in agreement and smiles. "She certainly is. Something remarkable."

Diggle looks at Oliver out of the corner of his eye and finds his friend and boss still looking at the bathroom with a half-smile on his often serious face.

True to her word, Felicity is out of the bathroom in just under five minutes, after changing into her training leggings and sports bra, pulling her hair back into a ponytail and wiping the makeup from her face. She knows from experience that makeup and the intense training the boys put her through do not mix together well.

"Ok, let's do it!" She claps her hands excitedly as she dumps the bag now containing her work clothes on the ground. She blushes at the implications of her words. "I mean, not 'it'. I don't plan on having sex or anything like that! I just meant let's do it as in, let's train so hard we end up covered in sweat." She sighs. "Again, that came out wrong. I just… you know what I mean."

Diggle looks at her in amusement, while Oliver bites the inside of his cheek to stop from laughing at her.

"Getting a bit tongue-tied, Felicity?" Diggle questions.

"No, she's not tongue-tied." Oliver pipes up. "Her brain-to-mouth filter has just crashed again, that's all."

Felicity lets out an indignant huff and stomps into the middle of the mats. "Ok, ok, let's be mean to Felicity later. What's first?" Her eyes flip questioningly between Oliver and Diggle.

Oliver looks over at Diggle. "You go first, Digg. Do whatever you want with her, but don't hurt her too much. She still needs to be able to function for her round with me."

"I'm glad you only want him to not hurt me so that I'm able to practice with you, too." Felicity says to Oliver. "You know, instead of asking him to not hurt me because you just don't want me hurt."

Oliver winks at her and sits on the couch to watch her and Diggle practice.

"Ok, knife work." Diggle begins.

"What?" Felicity manages to squeak out in horror.

"We'll start off with me having a knife and you just dodging and defending. Then we'll both have a knife and you can attack me as well as defend me."

Felicity's face slowly loses its colour. "I have possibly the worst coordination in the world, and you want to play with knives with me?"

"Maybe this will be good incentive for your coordination to improve." Diggle says simply.

Felicity puffs out her cheeks before she sighs in defeat.

Diggle picks up a small knife and slowly walks toward Felicity who gulps down her nerves.

Out of nowhere, Diggle lunges at her and swings the knife at her head. She quickly ducks out of the way and bounces lightly on the balls of her feet as the adrenaline starts coursing through her system. Only once does Diggle's blade connect with her skin. Felicity hisses as the knife cuts her upper arm. Before Diggle even has a chance to apologise, Felicity has sent a fast kick to his stomach, sending him staggering back and trying to catch his breath as the wind is knocked from him.

"Nice kick…" Oliver says to Felicity, sounding almost proud of her. "Now let me see that arm." He stands up from his seat on the bench and walks to her. She walks toward him and they meet at the very edge of the mat as Oliver carefully looks at the cut.

"I'm fine." Felicity tries to shrug him off. "Diggle got the worse end."

Oliver smiles at Felicity. "You may be fine now, but I want to put some antiseptic on the cut to make sure it doesn't get infected."

He grabs her hand and pulls her over to the medical bay, getting her to sit on the bed. He pulls out a pack of antiseptic alcohol wipes and a bandage. As Oliver carefully cleans away the blood with a wipe and presses a clean wipe to her arm, she hisses as the alcohol stings the cut.

"You right?" Oliver looks up briefly from his task, to see her biting her bottom lip to stop from saying anything harsh or inappropriate to him as she nods her head in a silent 'yes'.

Once he is convinced the cut is clean, Oliver wraps the bandage firmly around her arm and secures it with a clip before he helps her down from the bed. The pair walks back to the training room and Felicity immediately walks over to Diggle, holding out a hand for her own knife. After half an hour of them both training with the knives, Diggle comes away with five cuts on his skin; three on his chest and two on his left arm.

"You alright to clean yourself up, Digg?" Oliver asks the older man.

Diggle nods and walks out of the training room. Felicity wipes her blade over with the sanitising cloth and places it back in the weapon rack before she turns to Oliver.

"What now?"

Oliver steps toward her, crowding her space. "I was thinking hand to hand." With that he swings a punch at her which she blocks.

Diggle walks back into the training area ten minutes later just in time to see Felicity fall to the ground heavily front-first, with Oliver landing on top of her. Diggle winces, feeling Felicity's pain. He knows firsthand that Oliver doesn't hold back with training, and when you end up on the ground, you wake up covered in bruises the next morning.

"Oh god." Felicity manages to wheeze out. "I swear, Queen, if you broke any of my bones, you're paying my medical bills."

Oliver chuckles, supporting some of his weight on his arms but still pressing down onto her back lightly. "I didn't break any of your bones, Felicity. I was in complete control."

"Tell that to my bruises tomorrow." She states. "Actually, try telling that to my boobs right now, because they are killing me! Which you really didn't need to know…" She trails off.

Oliver rolls off of her and looks at her sincerely. "I am sorry Felicity. I didn't mean to hurt your breasts."

She narrows her eyes at him. "You are worse than Eleanor, picking on my slip-ups."

Oliver smiles softly at her before he stands up and offers his hand down to Felicity as she rolls over onto her back. She takes his hand and he pulls her up.

"Again?" Oliver asks her.

She sighs but nods her head. "Ok."

* * *

Felicity walks down the hallway and unlocks the apartment door. It's only 9.37pm. She's actually home fairly early, because they didn't get a new case, so Felicity just spent some time getting every piece of information possible on Isabel Rochev.

"Hey!" Felicity says brightly as she walks into the apartment and sees Nora sitting on the couch, her back facing the door and hunched over something. "Hey, are you ok?" She asks, walking over and placing a hand on her younger sister's shoulder.

Nora stiffens at her touch and purposely doesn't look up. "Where have you been?"

"I was at Verdant helping Oliver." She answers cautiously.

Eleanor nods her head and she can't keep the bite out of her words. "Of course you were."

Felicity flinches at Nora's tone of voice. "What's going on with you? You aren't usually like this."

"I don't know, how about you tell me what's going on with you? I'm not the one who is always working and doesn't get home until the most ungodly hours of the morning. I'm not the one who spends more time with her rich boss than her geek of a sister. I'm not the one who bails on dinner when her sister reserved a table at a fucking five star restaurant."

"Shit…" Felicity sighs as she remembers that she was supposed to be home at six thirty so Nora could take her out. "I'm so sorry, Nora. I got so caught up in what we were doing. I lost track of the time and… I'm so sorry."

"Save it." Nora snaps. "Do you have any idea how worried I was? I tried calling you over twenty times but it just kept going to voice mail. I called John, and Oliver, and Laurel. I even called the Queen house and had to ask _Thea_ if she knew where you could be! I called the police but they said I couldn't file a missing person report for 24 hours. I called Emily, Willa and Katie to see if you were having a girls' night with them. I called Queen Consolidated and asked if you were still there, and if they knew when you had left and where you had gone. Neither John nor Oliver answered when I called them, either. Laurel took me to Queen Consolidated to physically look for you, and she was going to put in words with her dad to get a missing person report up as soon as possible. She tried calling Oliver too, but she couldn't get through to him either. Katie, Emily and Willa were putting the word out on their side of town to find out if anyone had seen you, and then they were coming here to stay with me."

"You didn't have to go to all of that trouble for me." Felicity says quickly.

Nora laughs humourlessly. "You're right. I mean, you obviously didn't care about the fact that you wouldn't be home for dinner so why should I? Yeah, maybe you've been out 'working' really late lately, but you always text me to let me know roughly what time you'll be home. Always. And tonight, when you knew you had to be home and you didn't even let me know. I guess you're just too busy with your new, rich boss to remember that I'm sitting at home waiting for you. So what was it that had you lose track of time for three hours? Was he screwing you? Is that what you've been doing when you've been at Verdant 'helping with the servers'?"

"How dare you." Felicity growls.

"How dare I? I'm not the one who's been lying for over a year to the one person they swore never to lie to!"

"Nora…" Felicity started but was cut off.

"No! I'm done, Felicity. I'm done with trying to be the perfect little sister. I'm done pretending I don't miss Mum and Dad just because you can't handle the fact that they left us. I'm done with pretending I'm ok, because I'm not! You think my high school experience is so much better than yours was, but it's not! I have _one friend_! Perrie is my only friend, and you know why that is?" By now the tears are streaming down Eleanor's face and don't look like stopping any time soon. "That's because she moved here, from fucking England, after _Thea Queen_ turned the whole school, including most of the teachers, against me! You know Thea, right? She's the charming high-maintenance sister of that stuck-up rich playboy who you've been absolutely besotted with for the last twelve months! I'm done pretending everything in my life is just dandy, because it's not. And the worst part of it all is that you can't see that; either that or you don't care anymore. And you know, it all started after Oliver Queen brought you a laptop to fix." Nora laughs humourlessly. "But don't let me keep you here; I'm sure you have other plans with Mr Queen that will keep you occupied until the early hours of the morning."

With that Nora turns and walks away from Felicity

"Nora…" Felicity begins just as the girl's bedroom door banging closed behind her, making Felicity jump.

Felicity starts walking after her sister, but Laurel's calm, quiet voice stops her. "Leave her, I'll go."

Felicity hadn't even noticed Laurel standing in the doorway of the kitchen, taking in the whole conversation.

But then it clicks in her mind. _Of course Laurel had stayed with Nora after bringing her home from QC._

Felicity watches in horror as Laurel walks over to Nora's bedroom door and knocks on it gently. "Ella sweetie, can I come in?"

Eleanor's sobbing stops just long enough for her to answer a muffled, "Yes."

Without looking back, Laurel opens the door and slips into the room, closing it silently behind her.

There's the sound of a key turning in the lock of the apartment and Felicity slowly wanders towards the door, knowing exactly who it is. Sure enough, the door swings open and her three best friends Emily, Willa and Katie waltz in and all stumble to a halt, Willa freezing first and causing a domino effect as the other two run into her back.

"Lis!" Katie exclaims when she looks around Willa's shoulder to see what had caused her sudden halt.

"Where have you been?" Willa screeches.

"El was worried sick about you!" Emily adds.

"I know, I just lost track of time and she freaked out and over reacted. I'm sorry if she worried you, too." Felicity explains.

"Well, at least you're ok." Katie says, always the most level-headed in the quartet.

"Anyway… now that we know you haven't been abducted or anything, how was your birthday?" Willa asks.

Felicity rolls her eyes at her friend. "It was pretty good actually. Look, I'm tired, so… Do you want to go out for coffee soon?"

"Definitely!" Katie exclaims.

"How about this Friday, lunch time?" Emily suggests.

"Starbucks?" Willa wonders.

"How about Big Belly Burger?" Felicity asks.

"Deal!" Katie says, knowing that if she doesn't intervene the three girls could spend at least three hours trying to decide on a location for their catch-up session.

"Ok, great!" Felicity says, giving all three of them a hug. "See you then! Bye!"

The three women laugh at Felicity's obvious eagerness to have them gone, taking no offence to the fact that she has no brain-to-mouth filter. They know very well that everything Felicity thinks ends up spilling out of her mouth.

Felicity closes the door behind her friends and lets out a sigh before she walks towards Nora's room. She silently opens the door a crack – just far enough for her to peek inside – and her heart clenches and what she sees.

Nora is curled up in her bed with Laurel. Laurel's back is to the door and her form slightly obstructs Felicity's view, but she can still see Laurel's arms wrapped around her sister and Nora hugging her back. From the looks of it Nora is fast asleep and Laurel is whispering quietly to her, gently stroking her blonde curls. Felicity has to bite her lip to stop herself from crying at the sight. It should be her that Nora turns to after having a bad day. It should be her arms that Nora falls asleep in.

Don't get her wrong, she's grateful that Laurel was there earlier to help Nora, but she's starting to feel like she can't compete with the lawyer at all. First Oliver had chosen Laurel over her, and now Nora has too.

She feels like she's been stabbed in the heart.

* * *

**So, that's that. Let me know what you think! Oh actually, just out of curiousty, what was your favourite line from that chapter? I can't decide from the many things Felicity and Oliver say to each other.**

**Next chapter should be up in a few hours!**


	4. Chap 3: Remarkable Heroes

**Thanks to everyone for following, favouriting and reviewing!**

**This one is a lot shorter than my other chapters, so I'm sorry about that.**

**I know I've made SwiftPayneCastleBeale hate Laurel, which was not my intention, trust me! I hope nobody else hates Laurel, because I think Felicity and Laurel will become (eventually) quite close friends. And something else very big is going to come up involving Laurel very soon!**

**Oh, I forgot to ask at the end of the last chapter if anyone picked up on the names of Felicity's three friends (Willa, Katie and Emily)?**

**This chapter is pretty intense, but it's quite cute towards the end.**

**_Disclaimer:_****_ Arrow_**** belongs to DC and CW**

* * *

**Remarkable Heroes**

Felicity climbs out of bed at 6.15 the next morning, intent on making breakfast for Nora as a way of apology, almost like a peace-offering. She stumbles out of her bedroom and heads towards the kitchen.

"Ow!" Felicity swears to herself as she stubs her toe on one of the chairs at the dinner table. She hops around on one foot for a few seconds as she rubs sleep from her eyes under her glasses, before she continues walking to the kitchen.

Felicity freezes when she enters the kitchen and sees a sweaty Eleanor, wearing jogging shorts and a sports bra, leaning against the sink as she watches her older sister with narrowed eyes.

"Morning." Felicity says nervously.

"Hi." Eleanor replies shortly.

"What are you doing up this early?"

"I just went for my run. You know, the one you usually join me for."

Felicity mentally face-palms at the fact that she forgot about the run that Nora takes every second morning.

"It's ok though, Laurel came with me." Nora continues and Felicity bristles at the mention of Laurel.

"And what did Laurel wear?"

"A pair of my shorts and one of my crop-tops over her bra. Why does is even matter what she wore?"

"I was just curious." Felicity answers quietly.

"Bullshit." Nora mutters, catching Felicity out on her lie.

At that moment, Laurel joins the sisters in the kitchen, wearing a pair of Nora's black running shorts and blue sport crop-top. "Good morning Felicity." The brunette smiles warmly.

"Morning." Felicity says without looking at Laurel, before walking out of the kitchen, brushing past Laurel on the way.

"Ignore her." Felicity hears Nora say to Laurel. "She's just having a tantrum because I'm shitty with her because she bailed on dinner last night. I was taking her to Romero's, and she just forgot. Do you have any idea how hard it is to get a table at Romero's? I couldn't even get a refund for our reservation!"

Well, there goes the 'peace-offering' idea.

* * *

"Good morning, Miss Smoak!" Oliver says cheerfully as he pokes his head into her office.

"Good morning." She responds, offering him a weak smile.

When he notices Felicity's lack of happy energy – which she usually exudes – Oliver steps into the office fully, closes the door behind himself, and is over at her desk in an instant. "Felicity, what's wrong?"

"I am fine." She says, focussing too hard on her computer screen as her fingers fly across the keyboard. "Everything is just marvellous. Why would you think there was something wrong? My life is absolutely dandy."

"Felicity," Oliver's hands settle on top of Felicity's, gently stilling her fingers. "You say I'm a bad liar but your attempt just then was absolutely appalling."

Felicity refuses to look Oliver in the eye, instead keeping her eyes glued on the computer screen in front of her.

"Please Felicity," Oliver begs. "Trust me."

Felicity slowly looks up at Oliver. "It's nothing. Really." She adds when he looks at her incredulously.

"Alright." Oliver gives up, sighing as he releases Felicity's hands and heads toward the door. As he reaches for the handle, he turns back and looks at her. "You know where I am if you need anything."

* * *

It's lunchtime when Oliver receives a text message from Felicity.

**Hey, can you come down here? I'd like to talk. F**

He pockets his phone and stands, grabbing his lunch from his desk and walking out of his office. He avoids the elevator and instead bounds down the stairs two at a time until he reaches her floor, which is the one below his.

Oliver walks along the hallway to Felicity's office. He looks toward her desk when he reaches the long window which forms one wall of her office and sees her leaning back in her chair, eating what appears to be fried rice. To anyone else, Felicity Smoak would appear to be peaceful and serene, taking her lunch break. But Oliver can see the slight tightness of her jaw, the faint lines of tiredness around her eyes, and the nervous twitch of her pinkie finger against the plastic container holding her lunch. Even from this distance, he can see the pain written on her face and the turmoil roiling in her eyes. She's overthinking, and he knows it, and is on the verge of an emotional breakdown.

He knocks gently on the door and Felicity's eyes snap from their intense study of the ceiling, to his face as he slowly opens the door.

"Hi." She offers nervously, chewing on her bottom lip.

Oliver smiles gently at her, which makes Felicity smile because she knows he doesn't give anyone else that smile. That smile is just for her. It's his 'You Know Everything Bad And Scary About Me But Still Trust Me And I Want You To Know That I Trust You Too' smile. She knows he doesn't even grace Laurel with that smile, because she doesn't know any of the bad things that happened to him on the island. Laurel doesn't know that he's Starling City's resident vigilante. He doesn't trust Laurel the way he trusts Felicity. It makes Felicity's stomach do flips just thinking about the fact that he has a smile reserved specifically for her.

Oliver sits down in the chair on the opposite side of her desk and sits in silence, knowing she'll talk when she's ready.

"Not here." Felicity finally says and stands from her desk, leaving her fried rice behind as she makes her way across the office to the two red couches. Honestly, she's not sure why she needs couches in her new office, but they're comfortable so she's not complaining.

Oliver sits down on the same couch as Felicity and watches her, taking in all of her body signals. Legs placed squarely in front of her body, eyes closed, shoulders hunched slightly as she rests her elbows on her knees and buries her face in her hands. Unsure of what else to do, and having no clue of what to say, Oliver reaches out a hand and rests it on Felicity's shoulder, but she flinches away from his touch.

Eventually she begins talking, head still buried in her hands. "Nora hates me. I'm a terrible sister. I forgot that she was taking me out to dinner last night. She'd booked us a table at Romero's, and I forgot and trained with you guys in the foundry and now she hates me. It's worse than I thought it would be. I'd always known something like this was coming. Our relationship was too perfect. We never fought. Well, we did but it was just stupid little things and we gave each other the silent treatment for an hour and then everything was good again. Just stupid, normal sibling arguments like when she'd mess around with my computer or I'd touch her iPod. But this… You should have seen the look on her face when I got home last night. She was devastated. And Laurel was over, acting the perfect big sister that I should be. And I got up this morning to make her breakfast, but I'd forgotten that this morning was her run, and Laurel had gone on the run with her instead of me. That's been our thing since she was, like, 12! We started doing it just after Dad died, before Mum left us. Every second morning we'd get up at like, 5.30 and go for a run. And I'd forgotten that, as well as the dinner, and Laurel had picked up the pieces of my baby sister's heart and put her back together. And now Nora loves Laurel more than she loves me, and honestly I'd love Laurel more than me too, because she's perfect and I'm just a pathetic IT girl who can't even keep the promises she makes to her sister. I get it, you know, why everyone likes Laurel so much. You and Nora, I mean. Laurel is gorgeous and funny and smart and caring and compassionate and understanding and everything I'm not. Why can't I just be a better person? Someone that Nora comes home to at night with a hug and a nice warm meal. Someone who isn't away every night sitting in the basement of some rich boy's club hacking into security and databases for aforementioned rich boy. Someone who doesn't lie to her and let her down all the time."

Oliver sighs. He knew something like this would happen. It's his fault, really, and he knows that. He knows it's his fault that Felicity spends so little time with Nora, and it's his fault that Felicity has to lie to her younger sister, and it's his fault that Felicity forgot about last night's dinner. "I am so, so sorry." He closes his eyes as he continues. "I never thought about how you helping me would affect your family life."

"I don't exactly have a 'family life'." Felicity cuts him off. "It's just Nora and I. The dynamic duo."

Oliver smiles softly at her, but it's a sad sort of smile. Yes, he's been through hell and back but he can't even imagine what it must be like for Felicity, losing her Dad, her Mum leaving, and Felicity having to raise Nora by herself. Then he says the words they've both been thinking. "You've given up so much for me. Why?"

Felicity tilts her head so she can look at him. "Because… I think you're doing the right thing. I'm willing to give up parts of my life for you and what you're doing." Then, as an afterthought, she adds, "I just never thought I'd be giving up this much."

Oliver reaches over and rests his hand on her knee. "Is there anything I can do to make it up to you? I could pay for you and Nora to go out to dinner tonight?" He offers. "Somewhere far nicer than Romero's."

"This isn't something you can just fix with your money, Oliver!" Felicity snaps at him. "Nora isn't like Thea; she doesn't care about materialistic crap like money and clothes and expensive restaurants! Her forgiveness can't be bought, it needs to be earned! Believe it or not, money isn't everything to some people!"

"Do not talk about Thea like that." Oliver growls at her.

"Why not? It's true, isn't it? All she thinks about are clothes, shoes, fancy new handbags, money, what people are saying about her in the gossip column, and Roy!"

"You know nothing about Thea and what she's been through." Oliver's voice is now taking on a dangerous tone.

"Oh really?" Felicity asks, her voice jumping an octave higher. "My father died was diagnosed with cancer when I was 9! He died when I was 19, Oliver. I spent ten years of my life watching my father waste away in front of me. Nora was 11 when he died; she barely knew him! All she knew was the sick man who was in hospital most of the time. A few months after he died, our mum just left. I was having coffee with a few of my friends when I got a call from Nora's school. It was 4 o'clock, and school finished at 3. They called me and asked if I could come and pick Nora up, because Mum hadn't come to get her. We got home and all of Mum's stuff was gone. Her clothes, her laptop, her phone, her car. Everything. She just left us without even a note saying goodbye. So maybe I don't know much about Thea, but I sure as hell know what she's been through. You think you and Thea are the only people have lost people they care about? You're not. Digg lost his brother, Carly lost her husband, AJ lost his father, Laurel lost her sister, Tommy lost his best friend. Do you ever look outside of your family to see the people around you breaking? Have you ever thought about who I am, Oliver? Have you ever wondered about my past, why I never talk to anyone about my family?"

"Felicity, I-"

"No, just don't! You think you know me Oliver, but you don't! You don't know a thing about me!"

"I beg to differ." He says quietly. "I know that, despite the large amount of girly colours that you wear, your favourite colour is green. Lime green, to be specific. I know your natural hair colour is something between blonde and brown, almost a mousy brown colour. I know you dye your hair blonde so it matches the colour of Nora's hair like it used to when you were kids. I know your favourite type of food is Italian. I know you love Taylor Swift and you think you kind of look like her with your blue eyes and curly blonde hair. I know you watch me when I train instead of doing whatever it is you're supposed to be doing at that time. I know you have a terrible brain-to-mouth filter, and sometimes you just wish the floor would swallow you up because you've said something inappropriate. I know you wish you were more than the geeky IT girl who is also Oliver Queen's personal researcher. I know you are more than that, Felicity. You are kind and beautiful and caring and funny and smart. You are an amazing sister, Felicity. Eleanor will come around, trust me. She just needs time to cool off. Don't ever doubt yourself Felicity, because you are truly remarkable."

Oliver can see the tears shining in Felicity's eyes behind her glasses as he falls silent.

"How do you know all of that?"

He smiles gently at her. "You might not tell me everything about yourself, but I'm a pretty observant guy. Granted, you were more complex for me to figure out than most of the other women who I have associated myself with. But, with a bit of perseverance I got there. Maybe I still don't know everything about you, but I'd like to… One day."

"Thank you Oliver." She whispers, placing her hand gently on top of his resting on her knee. "You truly are a hero, even if you can't see it. No matter what happens, from here on out I'll always be at your side. Or, in your ear when you're in the costume. But I'll always be with you, because I believe in you. I think you can change Starling City. Honestly, I think you can change the world. Do you know why?"

"Why?" He wonders.

"Because you changed me."

* * *

**So, I hope you liked it! What did you think of the 'Olicity' moments? Does anyone have anything that they want to see happen between (a) Laurel and Felicity, (b) Laurel and Nora, (c) Oliver and Felicity, (d) Oliver and Nora, (d) Oliver and Thea, (f) Thea and Felicity, (g) Thea and Nora, or (h) Nora and Felicity?**

**Until next time!**


	5. Chap 4: Connections

**I loved writing this chapter! It was so much fun (especially the first part)! I hope you get as much enjoyment out of reading it as I did writing it.**

**When Felicity is singing it is ****_bold and italics_****. When Nora is singing it is **_italics and underlined_**. When they're both singing, it's just **_italics__**.**_

**_Disclaimer:_********_Arrow_**** is on my Christmas list. Until Santa comes, I don't own it.**

* * *

Felicity turns the taps of the shower and strips her clothes off before she steps into the shower. She sucks in a sharp breath as the hot water scalds her back, before her body adjusts to the temperature of the water and she relaxes into the heat that pounds on her neck, back and shoulders. She tips her head back and allows the water to run over her face. She can hear the music blasting from where Nora is sitting on the floor in the lounge room as she does her homework. Not that Felicity understands how Nora can focus on anything other than singing with the Pitch Perfect soundtrack playing that loudly.

_Cups_ begins playing as Felicity is rubbing shampoo into her hair and she grins in excitement and begins tapping the cup rhythm on the wall of the shower. Suddenly the music stops and the bathroom door swings open as Nora tosses a yellow plastic cup over the top of the shower to Felicity without saying a word. Felicity laughs as she hears the bathroom door close and the song restarts. She can hear Nora's clear voice sing along in perfect pitch with Anna Kendrick.

That's something that Felicity is insanely jealous of Nora for; the fact that she has such an incredible voice. That and the fact that Nora only needs glasses to read, instead of all the time like Felicity does.

When the song finishes, she tosses the cup over her head and over the top of the shower, hoping it lands in the sink or bath.

_Party In The USA_ begins playing and Felicity begins singing loudly. **"****_HOPPED OFF THE PLANE AT LAX WITH A DREAM AND MY CARDIGAN, WELCOME TO THE LANDOF FAME EXCESS, AM I GONNA FIT IN?!_****"**

"SHUT UP FELICITY, YOU SUCK!" Nora yells turning the music up even louder in an attempt to drown out Felicity's slightly off-key singing. However, that only encourages Felicity to sing even louder just to be annoying.

As that song finishes, _Just The Way You Are / Just A Dream_ begins and Nora sings the insanely high first few notes.

Felicity begins singing when Brittany Snow starts her line, actually in tune. **"****_Oh, her eyes, her eyes make the stars look like they're not shining. Her hair, her hair falls perfectly without her trying. She's so beautiful and I tell her every day._****"**

Nora begins singing the background lyrics. "_Uh, uh I was thinkin 'bout her, thinking 'bout me, thinking 'bout us and what we're gonna be, opened my eyes it was only just a dream._"

**"****_I know, I know when I compliment her she won't believe me. And it's so, it's s sad to think that she don't see what I see. But every time she asks me "do I look ok?" I say…_****"**

The sisters switch lines suddenly, Nora singing Brittany's line. "_When I see your face there's not a thing that I would change, 'cause you're amazing just the way you are._"

Felicity sings the backup now. **"****_So I travel back down that road, will she come back? No one knows. I realised it was only just a dream._****"**

They switch lines again, Nora quickly picking up the lyrics that Felicity leaves. "_So I travel back down that road, will she come back? No one knows. I realised it was only just a dream._"

Felicity sings the last chorus underneath Nora's lyrics. **"****_When I see your face there's not a thing that I would change, 'cause you're amazing just the way you are._****"**

They both sing the last line together. "_When I see your face._"

Felicity smiles happily. It seems that Nora can't stay mad at her for over 20 hours.

"This doesn't change anything!" Nora says from right outside the bathroom door. "I'm still mad at you."

Felicity smiles. "At least you don't hate me anymore."

Nora sighs. "And you call yourself a genius."

"Hey! I am a genius and you know it!" Felicity cuts in indignantly as she begins scrubbing her body with her green loofah.

"I never hated you." Nora continues, ignoring Felicity's statement. "I could never hate you, Liss. You're the only person that I've always been able to trust to have my back and look after me. You're the only person I talked to for months after Thea made everyone else hate me. You're the only person who took my side over hers. You're my sister and my best friend and I love you but… you have to know, I was so scared last night. Like, I had a full-on meltdown. It was crazy."

"I know. And I am so sorry. I didn't mean to worry you. I just got side-tracked and forgot to check the time. And I know I've been distracted since I started doing those extra little projects for Oliver, but I promise I won't forget about you again. And I won't do as many of Oliver's side-projects. You're the most important person in my life. And I know you probably don't believe that right now, but I'm going to prove it to you."

"I love you Liss." Nora mumbles. "But it's going to take more than a few sweet words and empty promises for me to forgive you."

Felicity closes her eyes as she washes the shampoo from her hair. "I know."

Nora doesn't reply and Felicity knows she's gone back to her homework. Felicity stands under the water or a few minutes, listening to the Treblemakers sing Bright Lights Bigger City / Magic. By the time she pulls her towel down from where it's hanging over the top of the shower door, the Bellas finals mashup is playing and Felicity is back to singing slightly off-key as she dances around in the small shower while she quickly dries herself. She wraps the towel loosely around her body – because Nora has a habit of barging in without knocking, much like Oliver – and steps out of the shower. She freezes when she sees the figure sitting on the edge of the bathtub, watching her.

"Oliver!" Felicity squeaks, jumping back and almost falling over on her wet feet. "What are you doing here? This is private space! This is my bathroom! How did you even get in here? This habit you have of just appearing out of nowhere is ludicrous! It's bordering on harassment, actually! I could sue you for sexual harassment!"

Oliver chuckles at the nervous energy emanating from Felicity's towel-clad body.

"Turn around!" Felicity hisses at him as his eyes travel her body. "Or at least close your eyes! Imagine the stories that would fly around the office if anyone found out about this! This is inappropriate; you're my boss! Actually, 'inappropriate' is a severe understatement. You shouldn't see me naked!"

Oliver rolls his eyes but stands up and turns so he is facing the wall behind the bathtub.

"Ok, that's better. Thank you." Felicity says.

"I don't know what you're so worried about. You watch me train semi-naked all the time. You know what? I think you're a hypocrite, Miss Smoak." Oliver teases.

"I am not a hypocrite! You choose to train in my line of sight! Also, you train shirtless, yes, but you still have pants on! I am currently wearing absolutely nothing! I am completely commando right now!"

"You're wearing you towel."

"A towel is not an item of clothing and you know it!"

Oliver chuckles and looks over his shoulder at her, to see her still clutching the towel to her body, her wet hair hanging around her face in strands. He quirks an eyebrow at her. "And you're still not dressed yet?"

Felicity visibly gulps and her eyes inadvertently flick to the pile of clean clothes at Oliver's feet, her lacy black bra and bright orange with pink polka dot undies sitting on top. Oliver follows her gaze, his eyes falling on the clothes which he had somehow not seen until now.

Oliver smirks at her choice of undergarments, crouching down and picking them up, one in each hand. "Really Felicity? You pair this," He holds up the delicate, lacy bra, "With this?" He holds up her undies, grinning at her.

Felicity blushes profusely, unable to look at Oliver or the pieces of material in his hands. "Yes. But can you please put them down?"

Oliver opens his mouth to respond when there's a knock on the bathroom door. They both freeze in a mixture of horror and surprise as the door begins to open. Oliver really doesn't want to get caught by Nora, holding Felicity's bra and undies, while said IT whiz is wearing only a towel. Felicity, on the other hand knows it isn't Nora because that girl never knocks, which means someone else is about to walk in on her and Oliver. Someone who may not take the scene in so well.

"Felicity, can I please come in? I cut myself and need to grab a bandaid." Laurel's voice says through the tiny crack where she's already pushes the door open.

Oliver immediately drops Felicity's underwear and quickly climbs into the bathtub, pulling himself up and through the window that runs along the top of the wall.

_So that's how he got in,_ Felicity thinks.

"Hang on a minute, I need to get dressed." Felicity says, pouncing on her bra and undies, unable to get the image of Oliver holding them out of her head.

Once she has quickly pulled her clothes on, Felicity lets Laurel into the bathroom.

"Sorry about just barging in." Laurel apologises. "I just didn't think you would want blood all through your home."

"No, no, it's fine." Felicity says quickly, mentally focussing on not saying how she's used to it because Oliver has a habit of just barging in. Case in point: him climbing into her bathroom when she's in the shower. "What happened?" Felicity looks at the deep cut on the end of Laurel's pointer finger.

"Oh, I was chopping some onion to go in the casserole for dinner, and the knife slipped. It must have hit a nerve though, because I can't feel it."

"Oh. Well…" Felicity rummages through the medical cabinet. "Here's the bandaids. But if you can't feel it you might want to go to the hospital."

"Oh no. It'll be fine. A little cut never hurt anybody." Laurel says.

Felicity catches a glimpse of movement over Laurel's head. Oliver is still clinging to the side of the building, apparently. Felicity rolls her eyes at the man.

"Laurel." Felicity turns her attention back to the brunette who is wrapping a bandaid around her finger.

"Mmm?" Laurel's eyes flick up to Felicity quickly before going back to her task.

"What are you doing here?"

"Getting a bandaid." Laurel says as though Felicity must be stupid to ask that question.

"No, I mean what are you doing in my apartment?"

"Oh. Well, Nora told me that you don't usually get home until late of a night, so I thought I'd come over and make dinner and spend the night with her so she didn't feel lonely and forgotten." The subtle accusation rings in Laurel's words.

"Look, I get that you lost your sister," Felicity almost growls, "But don't be the reason I lose mine.

Laurel looks at her evenly. "You don't know what it's like to lost your best friend, the person you grew up with, the person you would do anything for. You don't seem to get that you still have your baby sister, but you don't give her the time or attention she deserves. My sister is dead, and here you are wasting yours! I would do anything to get Sara back, but I can't, so excuse me for wanting to spend time with Ella and trying to make her feel like someone cares about her. Because you sure as hell haven't been doing that great of a job in the big sister department lately."

"You have no clue what I've been through with Nora; what I've given up for her. I taught her how to swim, how to ride a bike, how to read and write and do math and work on computers, because our parents were always the hospital. I have had to raise her by myself for the last five years! Tell me, did you ever have to hold an inconsolable teenager while she cried for hours because her supposed best friend made up rumours and turned the whole school against her? From what I've heard, you and Sara spent al of your time getting wasted at frat parties. Oh, and let's not forget the fact that she was sleeping with your boyfriend! So you think I suck at being a sister? Maybe you should take a good look in the mirror and we can resume this conversation when you've decided to not be a hypocrite. I know your sister is dead, and I do sympathise with you for that, but don't you dare use my sister in attempt to make yourself feel like a good sister."

"I think I'll just… I'll go." Laurel says as the truth of Felicity's words hit home.

Laurel turns and walks from the bathroom. She picks her bag up from where it is sitting on one of the armchairs in the loungeroom.

"See you later." She says to Nora who looks up at from her biology text book.

"Where are you going?"

"Work emergency." Laurel says bluntly before walking out of the apartment.

"Yeah, that's what Felicity always says, too." Nora mutters under her breath. "So bye, I guess."

She sighs and turns back to the book in front of her.

In the bathroom, Oliver's head pops in through the window.

"You made me realise something today." He says to Felicity who is pulling a brush through her wet hair.

Felicity sighs. "I'm sorry you had to hear that. I have nothing against Laurel, it's just that-"

"I know." Oliver cuts her off gently. "You feel like you can't compete with her. But Felicity, you don't have to compete with Laurel. Do you know why?"

"Why?" Felicity decides to humour him.

"Because you are amazing. Laurel could never replace you in Nora's life, or in mine for that matter. You are the person who has been there for Nora through things that Laurel couldn't even imagine. You've been there for me in times when I never thought I'd let anyone see me, especially not Laurel. You are Nora's perfect go-to sister, and you're my remarkable go-to genius."

Felicity blushes. "I like being your go-to genius."

"I'm glad." Oliver chuckles. "I have someone I need to talk to, but I'll see you tomorrow." He begins pulling his head out of the window, before he pauses and looks back at her. "Great singing, by the way."

Felicity flushes a bright red and looks away in embarrassment. "Mention that to anyone and-"

"Don't worry, it's our little secret." Oliver promises.

"We sure do have a lot of secrets." Felicity states.

Oliver grins at her in silent agreement before he leaves, silently scaling down the side of the building.

Felicity pulls her hair back into a low, loose ponytail and walks out of the bathroom, throwing her dirty clothes into her bedroom and heading into the main area of the apartment.

"Hey Nora," Felicity says to the girl sitting out the ground. "How does pizza sound for dinner? Homemade pizza."

Nora's face lights up into a breathtaking smile and Felicity does have to agree with Laurel on one thing: she needs to make that smile ha

ppen more often.

"Chicken?" Nora asks hopefully.

"I think we can probably do that. How about we do one chicken pizza and one vegetarian?"

"Yes!" Nora exclaims excitedly and fistpumps the air.

Felicity laughs at the younger girl's action, the same action she uses when she manages to successfully hack into something.

The two blondes spend the rest of the night laughing while making pizzas, and then spending hours playing Cluedo and Monopoly.

* * *

When Oliver leaves the Smoak apartment, he jumps onto his motorbike and rides straight to his house.

"Speedy!" He calls out as he walks through the mansion, taking his jacket off and tossing it over the back of a chair.

She doesn't respond, so he walks out to the pool deck and sees her sitting in a bikini, feet dangling over the edge of the pool, and her eyes closed.

Oliver smirks to himself and silently creeps over to his sister, quickly scooping her up and throwing her into the pool before she has a chance to even open her eyes.

"OLLIE!" Thea screams at him. "WHAT THE HELL?!"

Oliver laughs at the look of pure outrage on his little sister's face. "What's the matter, Speedy? Worried your hair will be ruined?"

Thea narrows her eyes at him. "I hate you so much."

She begins slowly swimming towards the edge of the pool where Oliver is standing, reaching up and wrapping her slim fingers around his wrists. With a strength Oliver didn't know she possessed, Thea pulled him into the pool with her.

"You are so lucky I didn't have my jacket on." Oliver says as he comes up and splashes her.

"And why would that be?" Thea grins.

"Because my phone's in it."

"Oh yes, seeing as you were technology deprived for five years, you can't spend a minute without your phone, can you?" She says sarcastically.

"Oh, someone's trying to be funny today." Oliver deadpans, but Thea catches the tiny twitch at the corner of his lips.

"I don't have to try to be funny. It just naturally happens." Thea responds.

"Yeah, of course."

"You don't have to deny it, Ollie. You know I'm better than you at everything. I'm funnier, friendlier, more social, and more attractive than you. You don't have to be embarrassed, it's just the way the world works."

"You are so full of it." Oliver laughs at Thea as she leans back in the water and allows herself to float on the surface.

"Mmm, perhaps." She agrees. "But so were you, once. You really have changed, you know. Since the island, I mean. I like it. It's good for you, I think."

"Yeah, I think so too." Oliver agrees.

He pulls his soaked and ruined shoes, socks, tie and shirt off before following Thea's lead and floating on his back.

"What happened to you on the island, Ollie?"

"A lot." Oliver sighs. "I wasn't alone there. It was being used as a prison and military base of sorts. There were a few people who I became allies with. Their were two men, Yoa Fei, and Slade, and Yoa Fei's daughter, Shado. They all helped me stay alive. Without them I would have died on that island."

"Are they…?" Thea trails off, unsure of how to ask the questions.

"Yoa Fei is dead." Oliver answers her question. "To my knowledge, Slade and Shado are both alive."

Thea continues looking up at the clouds floating overhead as she digests this new information. It's the first time Oliver's ever told her anything about his time spent on the island.

"Ollie, if you don't mind me asking, what caused this sudden will to talk about the island? And why did you throw me into the freaking pool?"

Oliver chuckles at the last question before he answers her. "Well, I realised that you and I aren't as close as I'd like us to be."

"And what brought you to this realisation?"

"Felicity and her sister Eleanor had a pretty big fight, and she told me about how their relationship used to be, which made me realise that I missed five years of your life. Really, I don't know who you are anymore. I don't know what your favourite TV show is, what sort of music you like listening to, who your celebrity crush is. I want to get to know my sister again."

"Eleanor Smoak?" Thea questions, an odd edge to her voice.

"Yes, why?"

"Just… stay away from her. She's bad news."

Oliver stood up and looked at Thea. "What do you mean? She's a lovely girl."

"Just…" Thea sighs, knowing she's going to have to explain to Oliver what happened if she wants him to stay away from Nora. "She stole my boyfriend from me."

"What?!" Oliver splutters.

"I walked in on them making out at a Fourth of July party I was having."

"Thea, I… are you sure that's what happened? Eleanor doesn't exactly strike me as the type to try and steal someone's boyfriend. Did you get her side of the story?"

"I don't want to hear her side of the story, Ollie. She was supposed to be my friend but she kissed my boyfriend!"

"Ok." Oliver said soothingly. "I believe you. But maybe you should talk to her and try to sort things out, if she was your friend."

"Oliver, Sophomores when it happened. I honestly think the time has well since passed for us to try and fix what she broke."

"It's never too late to try and fix a relationship if it's what you really want."

* * *

**Tada! Hope you liked it! Reviews make my day *hint hint*.**


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